"Now," said the Bachelor, "we will talk about luck. We will go to a place where nobody can hear what we say." They found such a place and lay down. The Bachelor rolled over three times and smoothed his fur; he was still so tired from being in the trap. Then he looked at the young Mink very sharply. "So you want my tail?" said he.
"You said you would give me your luck," answered Big Brother, "and everybody knows that your luck is in your tail."
The Bachelor smiled. "What will you do with the tail you have?" said he.
"I don't know," answered Big Brother.
"You wouldn't want to wear two?" asked the Bachelor.
"Oh, no," answered Big Brother. "How that would look!"
"Well, how will you put my tail in place of yours?" asked the Bachelor.
"I don't know," answered the young Mink, "but you are so wise that I thought you might know some way." He began to feel discouraged, and to think that the Bachelor's offer didn't mean very much after all.
"Don't you think?" said the Bachelor slowly, "don't you think that, if you could have my luck, you could get along pretty well with your own tail?"
"Why, yes," said the young Mink, who had begun to fear he was not going to get anything. "Yes, but how could that be?"